April 2017

Over the past two days here at base camp we have enjoyed some high altitude rest and relaxation between our first and second rotation. On the night of the 30th our main group of climbers will move up to Camp 2 and begin their second acclimatization rotation. They will spend 3-4 nights up at Camp 2 and touch Camp 3 before returning back to EBC. Our incredible Sherpa team is working very hard to move supplies and oxygen up the mountain. The Sherpa summit fixing team is expected to reach the summit in early May based on weather conditions with first climber summits soon after.

Our close base camp friend Randy Christofferson took off yesterday and we said our last goodbyes at the helicopter pad before he flew back to Kathmandu. His son, Anders, is being guided by Brent Bishop whom is currently up at Camp 2. Guides Brent and Geoff will be moving up to touch Camp 3 tomorrow and will return to EBC on May 1.

While relaxing at base camp we have enjoyed the company of Melissa Arnot and learned about her adventures both past and present. Her recent journey to climb the tallest mountains in all 50 states was very interesting. Tonight after dinner we had James Kerr join us, he is originally from New Zealand and spent a few years with the All Black New Zealand rugby team. He wrote and recently published a book called Legacy where he describes his experiences with ‘the most successful sports team in the world’.

Today guides Brent and Geoff departed for their second Everest rotation with John and Anders. They will climb to Camp 2 for two nights and then touch Camp 3 before returning to base camp. Back at base camp we had a housekeeping day where we cleaned our personal tents and re-centered our dining tent. Each week the glacier underneath our base camp shifts, so to keep our camp flat we have to reposition the rocks (picture below). After our tidy up at base camp we relaxed and caught up on laundry and rest.

In the icefall today guides Sid and Billy went through training with our Everest Express climber John. He will continue to train in the icefall and sync up with the main group’s second rotation in the days to come. The weather was warm and sunny from the morning to afternoon today with light winds. Our main climbing group is planning to move up on their second rotation on the 30th night. Over the next three days our climbers will go on acclimatization hikes around EBC and rest up. Beautiful photographs from our team below!

Today our second wave of climbers returned to Everest base camp after a successful first rotation. The weather has been cold and clear with beautiful views of the mountains in the day and a sky full of stars at night. Tomorrow Garrett and team will come down from Camp 2 to complete our first rotation. Our climbers are feeling well and will rest and recover over the next few days. Antony made a superb dinner followed by a bitter chocolate cake with caramelized apples for dessert. We will now have 3-5 days rest here at base camp before moving up on our team’s second rotation. Onward!

Mount Everest 2017 guide Brent Bishop, the son of the late legendary climber Barry Bishop, was the first American legacy to follow in his father’s footsteps and summit Mt. Everest. Brent first reached the summit of Everest in 1994, and again climbed the mountain in the 2002, with the National Geographic Mt. Everest Expedition that marked the 50th anniversary of the first ascent of the mountain. National Geographic produced the documentary, Surviving Everest, based on this climb. Brent attempted the technical West Ridge on Everest in 2012 and took part in the documentary, High and Hollowed. He was back on Everest in 2016, successfully guiding and filming for Madison Mountaineering. In 1994 Brent co-founded, the Sagarmatha Environmental Expedition (SEE), an organization committed to cleaning trash off the slopes of Everest. Brent has run SEE since 1994, and since its inception, the organization has removed more than 25,000 pounds of trash from the mountain.

Brent was born in Washington, D.C. in 1966 and began climbing as a child with his father on the East Coast and Rocky Mountains, and he has been climbing ever since. Brent’s climbing and work as a guide has taken him throughout the United States, Canada, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Antarctic. Brent received the Lowell Thomas Award from The Explorers Club, the international professional exploration society. The award recognizes explorers who have distinguished themselves in unique and distinct ways. Brent is also the recipient of the American Alpine Club’s, David Brower Award, presented for environmental achievement.

Today guides Brent and Geoff returned to base camp with John and Anders after a successful first rotation. The weather at base camp has been cold with steady snowfall over the past two days. Our climbers up on the mountain are doing well and tucked in at Camp 1 and 2 on Mount Everest. They will follow the same schedule with two nights at Camp 1 and two nights at Camp 2 before returning back down to base camp.

Our Sherpa team reports that the route fixing team has moved up to Camp 4. We predict that the first Sherpa summits will be in the next one to two weeks. Beautiful photos below taken by our first rotation team!

Today at base camp we woke up to sunshine and by early afternoon we had steady snowfall accumulating, Everest weather changes quickly! Our second wave of climbers pushed through the Khumbu icefall and made it to Camp 1 early this morning. We now have climbers acclimatizing at Camp 1 and Camp 2 on Mount Everest. Our third and final group will depart for Camp 1 early this morning. Everyone is doing well and in good spirits.

Our first Everest rotation is in mid-swing with our second wave of climbers moving up in a few hours. Beautiful day at base camp today with ample time to enjoy the sunshine. Our climbers at base camp continued icefall training with difficult courses set up by our guide staff. Up at Camp 1 our team is doing well with heavy clouds reported throughout the afternoon. Tomorrow our Camp 1 team will move up to Camp 2 where they will spend two days acclimatizing.

Bookended by a forecast of wind and snow our team squeaked in a summit of Island Peak at 6:15am on the 17th. Our climb began at 12:15am and after climbing steadily up tallus fields and ridges we made it to Crampon Point as the sun rose. We put on crampons and roped up to cross the very broken and bridged glacier, after an hour we made it to the base of the final 750ft headwall. The steep climbing was strenuous but we moved steadily up to the summit ridge. From the summit the beautiful Himalayan mountain range was on display, Lhotse, Taboche, Cholatse and Ama Dablam fueling dreams of future climbs. The descent went smoothly, we packed up basecamp and made the final trek back to Chhukung and slept soundly. Today we made the long trek to Namche and Lukla tomorrow.

“We couldn’t have asked for better conditions, this summit is the culmination of weeks of hard work” Jared Moravec reflected on the climb.

Today our first ascent climbing team pushed through the Khumbu icefall in great time and are now safely resting at Camp 1. Initial reports from Brent Bishop and team are that the icefall is in the best condition he’s seen it, which is great news to hear. We will have two additional waves on the first rotation that will be departing base camp in the next 1-2 days. Current agenda is to spend two nights at Camp 1 and two nights at Camp 2, then return to Mount Everest base camp. Weather today was pleasant, sunny in the morning with clouds rolling in during the afternoon with light snowfall.

Our evening movie choice has been rotating between climbers and tonight we enjoyed the original Indiana Jones. Tomorrow we will continue to train in the icefall then rest and hydrate before moving up the mountain. Antony made an amazing dessert tonight that you can see below. I’m sure the climbers will miss his cooking while up on rotations!

After a delicious breakfast we had another great day of training on the ice followed by an acclimatization hike toward Pumori base camp. This afternoon our Sherpa team packed their first loads and will be taking off toward Camp 1 and 2 in the next few hours. Guide’s Brent Bishop and Geoff Schellens will also be moving up toward Camp 1 with two private climbers around 5am. Over the next three days our entire team will be moving up on their first rotation on Mount Everest. Everyone is excited to start climbing!

The high Buddhist monk journeyed to Mount Everest base camp this afternoon and blessed our team with a joyful Puja ceremony. Our climbing and Sherpa team gathered together as one to give thanks to Sagarmatha and present gifts for safe passage. The lama was graceful and presented each climber with a blessing. After the ceremony concluded our friends on the Gurkha team (Nepal and UK) came down to our camp and joined in the festivities. Winds have finally settled down and we were all able to relax outside together and enjoy the cultural Nepalese experience.

In the afternoon, a few members of our team went out into the Khumbu icefall for additional training on the ice. We are all settling down for the night now and about to enjoy another of Antony Dubber’s amazing meals, I do believe that we are all gaining weight up here with his extraordinary high altitude culinary skills. After supper we typically partake in watching a film in our the movie theater, tonight we watched Top Gun.

Tomorrow we will not be climbing or training in the icefall in remembrance of the 2014 icefall tragedy. Our team will rest and prepare equipment for the first rotation in the days to come. The stoke is high and we are all ready to move up the mountain. To higher places!